From the pages of the world's two most acclaimed mystery magazines Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, here are fifteen stories of women sleuths--stories that helped transform the conventions of a genre. Best-selling, award-winning authors and up-and-coming new writers complement each other in this entertaining collection, much of which is appearing for the first time in book form.From cops to private eyes to ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations, these heroines face danger and solve crimes with daring and panache. Some of them will be old friends, others are introduced here for the first time. Amanda Cross' Kate Fansler looks into the disappearance of a fellow professor; Antonia Fraser's Jemima Shore, TV journalist and investigator, is hired by a newlywed to find his missing bride; Patricia McGerr's Selena Mead, government agent, plays the dual role of victim and level-headed operative in an exciting thriller; Sara Paretsky's widely renowned V.I. Warshawski gets involved in a complicated game--literally. Ruth Rendell's heroine undergoes a liberation from her former self; Mary Higgins Clark highlights the heroic side of womankind in her story of a stewardess and a stowaway.From mystery to thriller to the "lighter side" of the genre, these exciting stories will thrill and delight mystery fans, both male and female alike. Here is a rich collection, thoughtfully chosen to represent the best of this explosive sub-genre. Read Less